Bollerman is a world languages student at Ridgefield High and one of the students from that department who went to one of three international locations during spring break in April.

Bollerman's group went to Spain, visiting Madrid, Toledo, Savilla and El Escrurial, a famous monastery in the country.

"It was amazing," she said. "Spain is so beautiful that I couldn't even tell someone how beautiful it was."

Ridgefield High Latin student
Joey Hudson
went to Italy. His group stayed in Rome. For Hudson, being at the Vatican on Easter Sunday was a highlight of the trip.

"We heard the pope give his message," Hudson said. "There were so many people in St. Peter's. It was such a religious moment, that the people were captivated. There was a huge TV screen and speakers all around St. Peter's. You could see and hear the pope. It was amazing."

For Bollerman and Hudson, the trips were their first international travel.

"It was visually different," Bollerman said. "Madrid was such a clean city, and the architecture was magnificent. It was beautiful. I'm pretty proficient in Spanish but found that being in the country (for six days) sharpened my language skills. When I returned to school to my AP test, I found the trip had helped. I did really well."

For
Alex Knauz
, a world language student studying Japanese, a trip to Tokyo exceeded all expectations.

"I'd learned about the culture, studied the language and seen movies on Japan, but to actually go and see it, actually eat Japanese food the way it is supposed to be prepared - not like it's prepared in a restaurant over here - it was incredible," Knauz said.

"We run all of our language programs so that the students are completely immersed in the language," Djonbalic said. "Through these trips, the language becomes alive for them, and they develop an appreciation of the culture and understanding of the people. It's a way of building cross-cultural partnerships."

All three students said they found the cultures friendly, outgoing and interested in interacting with them.

"The biggest difference was the people," Knauz said of Tokyo. "Everybody wants to do their best at their jobs. They want to be polite. The service (in stores and restaurants) is so much better, more personable. People actually tried to start conversations with us."

For Hudson, Rome was "laid back."

"Even just walking down a back alley, the restaurant owners would be standing outside, talking to their customers," Hudson said. "Shopowners were really friendly, and you could sit down at a street-side cafe and watch people go by with their lives."

All three also said they hope to return to the countries.

"I'm probably going to study in Spain next year," said Bollerman, who has studied Spanish for six years. "I'll be attending
Wake Forest University
(in North Carolina), and it has a exchange study program in Salamanca. I plan to study there."

"I usually start with the words 'insanely amazing' when I tell my friends about Tokyo," Knauz said. "I definitely plan to return. It was the one country I've visited where I wasn't happy to go home. I got of the plane and thought, 'I want to go back.' I don't mind the 14 hour flight."